


chase you, catch me

by SaraJaye



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allusions to The Black Paladins and A Little Adventure, Almost Kiss, Anxiety, Brief mention of battle, Crying Keith (Voltron), First Kiss, Hugs, Love Confessions, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Moment Killers, Mutual Pining, Shopping Malls, crying Shiro, post-season 6, the team ships it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 08:57:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16323191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: How many times have they had a chance to come together, only to back out in the end? Like the old song says, there must be some way to get it together.





	chase you, catch me

It's been a month since they landed back on Earth, and he still wonders why. Why Keith didn't kiss him, because Shiro knows he wanted to, or why _he_ didn't just take the opportunity to kiss Keith.

They've had a lot of missed chances, now that he thinks of it. The day before he left for Kerberos, the day he came back, after the Blade of Marmora trials, when Keith came back just before...before...

_Shiro, please! You're my brother...I love you!_

Brothers. Maybe they'd been like brothers once, before Kerberos, but something had _changed_. He's not sure when or how it happened, but it _did._ It was that _I love you_ that started to break through Haggar's control, what had reverberated in his mind as he slept in the pod.

He'd dreamed of those days, back when he first met Keith, the day it ended with Adam. Sensed Keith's presence beside him as he slept, felt his new body accept his consciousness as he heard Keith crying out desperately for him to live.

Waking up, seeing Keith's relieved smile, remembering those days and every single time Keith had saved him, maybe that was the moment he realized he truly loved Keith. And from the look in Keith's eyes, he knew Keith loved him, too.

But after all that, he still couldn't kiss Keith. Keith still couldn't kiss him.

_God, why am I being such a coward? Why can't I just tell him instead of letting him think..._

He shakes his head, buries his face in his hands. Adam's gone, he was one of the first to die against Sendak, and Shiro never had a chance to reconcile with him. They were never going to get back together, too much time had passed and Adam had probably moved on before he died.

He and Adam had fallen apart because as much as they loved each other, Shiro hadn't been very good at expressing it. He'd chosen Kerberos over spending the rest of his life with Adam, and that was it.

Adam's dead, and how many times has Shiro come close to losing Keith? The Blade of Marmora trials, where Keith would have died of his injuries if Shiro hadn't rushed in. Naxzela, where Matt had told everyone about Keith's plan to ram the barrier, sacrifice his life.

Keith's reckless nature in general. For all his difficulty getting close to people, he'd give his life for anyone he cared about.

_You could lose him. He could die in the next battle, Black might not be able to preserve his consciousness, and Haggar's not likely to make a bunch of Keith clones, either. If he dies-_

Shiro leaps up from his spot on the couch and hurries towards the bed. Keith's fast asleep, wearing a pair of Shiro's old pajamas and bundled up in the blankets. It's colder here than Shiro remembers, Keith's shivering a bit in his sleep.

Shiro lies down and wraps his arms around Keith's blanketed form, burying his face in his hair.

_I won't make that mistake again._

 

But the next day, he's called for an early meeting with Iverson and Sam and the others. Keith's waiting for him when he gets out, though, with a cup of coffee and a sticky bun.

"Here," he says, "I didn't know if you'd had breakfast, and they've got a whole tray of this stuff free in the lobby, so..."

It's such a tiny gesture, but one that radiates love, and Shiro's tempted to kiss him right then and there. But instead, he takes the offered drink and pastry, sitting down in the lobby with Keith to eat them.

"Thanks."

"So how are the plans for the new Castleship going?" Keith asks. Shiro gives him the basic rundown between sips and bites, and while engineering isn't Keith's passion, he listens intently. Nothing will ever replace the Castle of Lions, but everyone has high hopes for the new ship with Sam on the construction team.

"The important thing is we'll have somewhere to keep the Lions safe," Shiro says, offering Keith the last of the sticky bun. Keith eyes it for a moment before taking it, a bit of the glaze clinging to his lower lip as he eats.

It's somehow the most adorable Shiro has ever seen him look.

"So...any plans for the day?" he asks.

"The Paladins and I are going to discuss defense and battle plans with the cadets later, but...I'm free now. Did you uh, want to do something?"

He's blushing.

Shiro drains the last of his coffee, puts the cup down, and leans forward. His hand cupping Keith's cheek.

"There's actually something I've been wanting to do for a while now." Keith's blush deepens, he tilts his head closer, upward, his eyes close, and-

"Shiro!"

They spring apart. The rest of the team's just arrived, all of them looking guilty and embarrassed.

"Sorry, sorry!" Lance says. "Didn't mean to interrupt anything." Keith pinches the bridge of his nose, visibly frustrated, struggling to keep his temper in check. He's better at it after aging two years in the Quantum Abyss, but it's still there.

"We were just seeing if you guys wanted to show Coran and Allura an Earth mall," Pidge said. "We've still got one standing even after the Galra invaded." _Great,_ Shiro thinks, is he ever going to get an opportunity to tell Keith he loves him? Or for Keith to kiss him?

"Sure," he says, trying to sound more enthusiastic than he feels.

 

They spend the next two hours at the mall before it's time for the meeting. All throughout the trip, Keith sticks close to Shiro's side as they try to find even a single moment alone together. They buy keychains of each other's favorite Pokemon for each other, share the same tray of fries at the food court, laugh at some of the choices in Target's DVD bargain bin.

"Oh, hey, they've got a sale on sweetheart rings at that jewerly kiosk!" Pidge proclaims. Is it just him, or is she looking _very_ pointedly at him and Keith when she says so?

"Matching sets, in silver and gold," Hunk adds. "Hey, these two even have Amethyst and Opal stones." Keith is bright red as he coughs into his fist, and Shiro has to stop himself from imagining buying that set. _You can't even kiss him, what right do you have to be thinking about buying engagement rings?_

He left his and Adam's engagement rings at his grave, after letting himself cry at his memorial for a short time. Once again, he remembers those warning thoughts from last night.

He should go _to hell with it,_ kiss Keith and proclaim his love right then and there, in front of everyone. But Keith's embarrassed enough, seeing him trying to avoid everyone's gaze wilts his courage.

"We should go."

 

Keith's late getting back from the meeting. An hour late, going on an hour and a half, and when he finally gets back he's in his armor. He looks tired, and there's a bruise on his cheek. Shiro practically trips over himself in his haste to run to his side, hugs him tightly.

"Keith," he gasps, "Keith, are you okay?"

"It's fine," Keith murmurs, hugging him back. "We ran into a few Galra soldiers, but we got rid of them quickly." He's wincing, though, and when Shiro helps him out of his armor he finds a few more bruises.

It's nothing a bath and some ice packs won't fix, but the fact that Keith was hurt is enough to tighten Shiro's throat. _It could have been worse, he could have been lying out there unconscious, he could be bleeding, he could have_

_could have_

"Shiro...?"

He doesn't realize he's crying until he feels Keith's fingertips on his cheek, and they come away damp.

"I can't lose you," he whispers. "Keith...I..."

"I meant everything I said back there," Keith whispers. "I mean, when I told you..."

"Keith." He cups the other's cheek in his hand, tilting his head down. "Keith, you're everything to me, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to say something...and that it's taken me so long to-"

Keith kisses him, deeply, urgently, and Shiro kisses back without an ounce of hesitation. They're falling into each other's arms, holding on tightly, afraid to let go. When they finally break for air, Keith's crying too.

"God," he gasps, "why didn't I just do that earlier? How many times-"

"-have we had the chance, and missed it?" Shiro hugs him again, burying his face in his hair, smiling through his tears. "How long have we been hiding from each other?"

"Too long." Keith's sniffling, nuzzling Shiro's shoulder. "But I've loved you since the day I rescued you from the Garrison. Or maybe even before Kerberos...every time you disappeared, I always regretted not saying anything sooner." He looks up, smiling. "But you've always come back to me."

"Nothing will ever keep me apart from you for long," Shiro says. "And nothing will ever separate us again, Keith. I love you, and I..." He swallows. "I want to spend the rest of our lives together."

"You mean..." Keith grins a little. "Those rings Pidge and Hunk pointed out."

"I want to go back tomorrow and get them. Even if we have to wait until all this is over, I want you to marry me."

"Shiro..." Keith buries his face in his shoulder again. "Nothing would make me happier!"

Their lips meet in another kiss, slow and deep. Warm.

Perfect.

Something inside him begins to heal, all his regrets begin to fade. If every missed chance or near-death led him to this moment all over again, he would relive them in a heartbeat.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, the summary is a nod to that Partridge Family song. (No, not because the lead singer is also named Keith! That's just a funny coincidence.)


End file.
